Priest must have bishop's OK before participating in protest activities

KAREN SMITH WELCH

Thursday

Jun 28, 2012 at 6:35 AM

AMARILLO ­- A Vatican ruling allows anti-abortion activist the Rev. Frank Pavone to perform religious services outside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Amarillo, but he must have permission to participate in pro-life activities, his bishop said Wednesday.

Priests for Life, the New York nonprofit led by Pavone, declared Wednesday the Vatican's Congregation of the Clergy upheld Pavone's appeal of restrictions placed on him last September by Amarillo Bishop Patrick J. Zurek.

But the organization shed no light on the details of the ruling.

Zurek said the ruling "makes it clear I am free to restore him to full religious ministry, if I wish. ... But he must have my permission for anything in regard to work in pro-life, and in particular Priests for Life, because that is where the issue arose to begin with."

Zurek cited concerns about how donations are managed by Priests for Life and affiliated charities led by Pavone in a Sept. 9 letter to U.S. Catholic bishops, Zurek escalated a protracted dispute with Pavone on Sept. 13 by confining Pavone's ability to perform religious services in the Amarillo diocese.

Pavone placed himself under the authority of the Amarillo diocese in 2005 because now-retired Bishop John W. Yanta promised him the freedom to pursue full-time pro-life ministry. The opportunity had eluded Pavone in the Archdiocese of New York.

But Pavone's simultaneously announced plans to build a $130-million pro-life seminary in Amarillo fizzled.

Priests for Life raised $45.5 million from 2004 to 2008, according to its tax returns. Priests for Life finished 2010 with a revenue shortfall of $1.4 million, according to an independent audit the organization posted on its website.

Pavone has said Priests for Life has provided all records requested by the bishop, as have affiliates Rachel's Vineyard Ministries and Gospel of Life Ministries.

In September, Zurek initially described Pavone's curtailed activities as a "suspension," but the word carries a loaded meaning in the Catholic church. Suspended priests generally have lost their authority to perform religious ministry, according to a Code of Canon Law on the Vatican website.

A day after Pavone's arrival in Amarillo, the diocese clarified Pavone remained a priest in good standing in the Catholic church, a status reaffirmed in the ruling the Congregation of the Clergy issued May 18, according to Wednesday's statement from Priests for Life.

"We are happy to announce that the Vatican has upheld Father Frank Pavone's appeal and has declared that Father Pavone is not now nor has ever been suspended," the Priests for Life website states. "We were confident all along that a just decision would be made by the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy.

"While we fully agree that Bishop Zurek has rightful authority over the priests of his diocese, we also see the urgent need for Father Pavone to be allowed to conduct his priestly ministry outside the diocese of Amarillo for the good of the pro-life movement."

But the Amarillo diocese website said Pavone must continue "until further notice" his ministry as chaplain of the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ at Prayer Town, near Channing.

Pavone and the bishop also must agree, in advance, about the priest's participation in pro-life events. Permission will be granted on a case-by-case basis, according to the diocese statement.

"If I need help in the diocese, he must oblige me and provide the priestly work that is needed at any given time," Zurek said Wednesday.

Pavone did not return a message left Wednesday. Horn said Pavone is at a National Right to Life Convention in Washington, D.C., and was unavailable for comment.

"We have the highest respect for the bishop, and Father Frank continues to have discussions with him regarding his (Pavone's) call to minister to the unborn," Horn said. "These discussions have been very cordial and amiable.

"Because those discussions are ongoing, we really can't say anything other than what we have said in our public statement at this time."

Zurek's September letter to U.S. bishops said they might consider suggesting parishioners withhold donations from Pavone's charities until questions about the entities' financial management are answered.

Zurek said Wednesday he is "not free to discuss" whether his concerns about the organizations' financial transparency have been resolved.

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